Federal Government Wants to Put Unused Public Land to Good Use

The US Department of the Interior has announced a plan to harvest unused land in the Southwest part of the country for solar power. A survey has identified a large chunk of land that would be ideal for solar power that will now undergo an environmental evaluation. If approved for solar power production, this land could produce up to 30 percent of residential energy use. The project is currently being funded by $41 million received from the stimulus, which is nothing next to what was given to companies like GM. Since this is a federal project, it will be able to avoid many of the local, state, and federal roadblocks that have caused trouble for those who have wanted to take similar action.